Conviction Upheld

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld a life prison sentence given a 22-year-old man convicted in a deadly drive-by shooting in Tulsa.

The court handed down its ruling Monday in the case of Rashad Romone Easley. A Tulsa County jury found Easley guilty of first-degree murder and four counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon in the Sept. 7, 2008, shooting that killed 16-year-old Donivan Crutcher. Three others in a car with Crutcher were seriously injured, and a fourth was grazed by gunfire.

Authorities say Easley drove the car used in the shooting while 21-year-old co-defendant Vincent Berry fired an assault rifle at the victims' vehicle. Berry was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.